Foyle Heritage Audit NI Core Document
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Table of Contents Executive Summary i 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................1 1.1 Purpose of Study ................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Objectives of the Audit ......................................................................................... 2 1.3 Project Team ......................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Study Area ............................................................................................................. 5 1.5 Divisions ................................................................................................................ 6 2 Audit Methodology .......................................................................................8 2.1 Identification of Sources ....................................................................................... 8 2.2 Pilot Study Area..................................................................................................... 9 2.3 Selection & Organisation of Data .......................................................................... 9 2.4 Asset Data Sheets ............................................................................................... 11 2.5 Consultation & Establishment of Significance .................................................... 11 2.6 Public Presentation ............................................................................................. 12 3 Heritage Assets – Significant Themes ........................................................... 13 3.1 The Natural State – Geology & Habitats ............................................................. 14 3.2 The Prehistoric Period ......................................................................................... 16 3.3 Medieval: Early Church ....................................................................................... 20 3.4 Settlement Patterns – Parishes & Townlands..................................................... 22 3.5 Viking Raids ......................................................................................................... 25 3.6 Later Medieval Period – Irish Lordships .............................................................. 28 3.7 Docwra’s Military Campaign ............................................................................... 31 3.8 Plantation, Rebellion & Suppression .................................................................. 32 3.9 The Jacobite Wars & the Siege of Derry ............................................................. 37 3.10 The Development of Towns ................................................................................ 41 3.11 The “Established” Church & Dissenters .............................................................. 42 3.12 Landlords and Agricultural “Improvement” ....................................................... 44 3.13 Napoleonic Defences .......................................................................................... 46 3.14 Administrative Structures & Reforms – institutions ........................................... 47 3.15 Famine & Emigration .......................................................................................... 48 3.16 Industry: Raw Materials to Finished Products – agriculture, milling, linen, shirt making................................................................................................................. 49 3.17 Transport: Railways, Roads & Canals .................................................................. 53 3.18 Lough Foyle & World War 2 ................................................................................ 56 3.19 The “Troubles” .................................................................................................... 57 3.20 20th Century Development .................................................................................. 60 3.21 Future Developments: ........................................................................................ 62 4 A Circuit of the Foyle Basin .......................................................................... 64 4.1 Magilligan Lowlands ............................................................................................ 65 4.2 Foyle Alluvial Plain ............................................................................................ 122 4.3 Burngibbagh & Drumahoe ................................................................................ 188 4.4 Foyle Valley ....................................................................................................... 230 4.5 Derry Slopes ...................................................................................................... 331 4.6 The City ............................................................................................................. 389 5 Study Findings & Recommendations ......................................................... 448 5.1 Future Research & Use of Audit Information ................................................... 448 APPENDICES Asset data sheets: Appendix 1: Magilligan Lowlands Appendix 2: Foyle Alluvial Plain Appendix 3: Burngibbagh & Drumahoe Appendix 4: Foyle Valley Appendix 5: Derry Slopes Appendix 6: The City Appendix 7: Information Sources Appendix 8: Consultation List Appendix 9: Acknowledgments EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Heritage Asset Audit is one part of the Foyle Landscape Project, a study and celebration of the shared heritage of the Foyle basin, from Magilligan to Newtownstewart. The audit is the most significant element of the study providing the substance from which a number of further outputs are to be generated. These include: a directory of easily accessible resources from which information about heritage can be found; a series of heritage and tourist routes; pilot conservation projects and a wide range of other heritage projects connected the Foyle basin. Most of the information in this document is not new, but for the first time, has been selected and presented together in a single resource. This resource is organised to reflect the spatial organisation of the natural landscape allowing direct comparison of visual and written media with the physical experience of passing through the Lough Foyle and river basin. At each section of this metaphorical journey, the various media through which heritage can be experienced are also brought into play, so that the landscape is not simply represented as a container for objects but is interpreted through the factors which shaped it, the plants and animals which it supports and the human activities for which it has provided a stage. This layered approach enables a deeper understanding of the landscape itself and the factors which have shaped objects within the context of their landscape setting. The range of such a task is potentially as great as the landscape that is being portrayed and a strict framework has been established to provide a structure for this study. Inevitably, this approach must be selective and the heritage features that have been highlighted prompt new questions and new paths for investigation. Like the taster menu, the project is conceived as the start of a longer relationship with the Foyle landscape; one is introduced to what is on offer, allowing informed choices for further investigation to be made in future. The aim is to make information about heritage accessible and to direct people to the resources to find out more. Like any audit, the aim has been to provide a methodical investigation that will assist in determining the state of the assets in question; in this case it is the heritage within the area that is being studied. The notion that heritage is comprised of assets is important, reflecting that heritage has a value and is to be protected. It also suggests that the heritage, which determines regional identity as embodied in our shared landscapes and culture, is a tool for Executive Summary Foyle Landscape Project – Heritage Asset Audit i doing business. This is particularly relevant in terms of cultural tourism where heritage is the substance without which there would be no product to promote. The audit has exposed the wealth of assets that are available to us in this region. It has also revealed some of the threats to this wealth through inadvertent damage either through neglect, lack of resources or lack of recognition. It is hoped that the recommendations that have been made in the study and the follow up activities that it generates will address these revelations to the profit of the region as a whole. Executive Summary Foyle Landscape Project – Heritage Asset Audit ii 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Purpose of Study The study has been commissioned by the Foyle Civic Trust and is intended to address a number of gaps in our knowledge about the historic built and natural environment. The study is part of a larger project relating to the landscape of the Foyle as a whole. The purpose of this element is to undertake an audit of “significant heritage assets” to assist in the development of an evidence base to inform policy and to promote collaboration and joint working in the Foyle Valley. The study has collated information available from several sources and brought it together to provide an overview of the heritage assets that survive. Whilst making reference to major features such as the Derry city walls the emphasis on this project has been to identify